Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I despise blame the victim chatter.

Why is it that every single car/bike crash or tragedy story is marred by everyone and his brother rushing to blame the victim? A man gets dragged 150 ft behind a car and immediately they story is about the evils of fixies. About how you must avoid confrontation, about how the cyclist must have been drunk, about how he curses at his mother, about how the cyclist must be a devil worshiper, etc.

This is the standard fare for all cycling stories. I have never seen a single crash story involving cyclists and motorists that didn't blame the victim. Not one. The best part is how we are all supposed to be very hands off with the motorist since we don't know the circumstances yet. So everyone just unleashes all their suspicion on the cyclist.

So for everyone blaming the victim, enjoy your final vacation in hell.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Totally agree.
I was horrified when reading about a cyclist here in Oz that was hit from behind. "Came out of nowhere". Said the driver.
Despite having a rear flashing light, the judge dismissed the case because he had no front light (law). Jeez!

Anonymous said...

I love this; when the motorist said the bicycle "came out of nowhere."

You know what? As much as I love cycling, if I had the ability to teleport "out of nowhere," I probably wouldn't be on a BIKE.